The Lede

National Mortgage News, Dec. 14, 2016--Collins, Brian With Republican control of Congress secure and the White House soon to be in GOP hands, lawmakers are optimistic they can pass a bill that lowers tax rates and reduces a number of deductions. That includes the mortgage interest deduction.

CNBC, Dec. 14, 2016--Olick, Diana Total mortgage application volume fell 4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis last week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Wall Street Journal, Dec. 14, 2016--Friedman, Robyn A. The J.D. Power 2016 U.S. Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study found that unhappy mortgage customers fell into two categories. One group cited a lack of communication, unmet promises and other problems with the lender. The other group of respondents said they felt pressured to choose a particular mortgage product.

Washington Post, Dec. 14, 2016--Harney, Kenneth R. A recently completed Federal Reserve study covering millions of mortgage applications found that flunking the debt-to-income test is the No. 1 reason that loan applicants get rejected.

National Mortgage News, Dec. 14, 2016--Sinnock, Bonnie The surge in mortgage rates since the November election is expected to offset the increase to lenders' short-term funding costs following the Federal Open Markets Committee's 25-basis-point increase to the federal funds rate.

HousingWire, Dec. 14, 2016--Ramirez, Kelsey Are you having trouble keeping up with all the forecasts for 2017, or wondering which forecast is the most accurate? It's easy to get lost this time of year, when economist everywhere begin pouring out their forecasts for the next year.

National Real Estate Investor, Dec. 14, 2016--Mattson-Teig, Beth  Life companies tend to fly below the radar when it comes to providing construction financing. But the pullback in construction financing among banks is stirring up fresh enthusiasm for life company's construction-to-perm loan programs.

Reuters, Dec. 14, 2016--Mutikani, Lucia U.S. retail sales barely rose in November and industrial production recorded its biggest drop in eight months, suggesting some loss of momentum in economic growth in the fourth quarter.

National Mortgage News, Dec. 14, 2016--Passy, Jacob The forecast for mortgage origination volume moved down for the first quarter of 2017 in the wake of the second interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve in a decade, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

National Mortgage News, Dec. 14, 2016--Passy, Jacob Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will replace the expiring Home Affordable Mortgage Program with a new loss mitigation option called the Flex Modification. The Mortgage Bankers Association had proposed a successor to HAMP called "One Mod" in September based on the work of a task force with representatives from 20 member companies.

Wall Street Journal, Dec. 14, 2016--Torry, Harriet Signs that the Fed may become more aggressive on raising rates could put more upward pressure on mortgage rates, said Michael Fratantoni, chief economist with the Mortgage Bankers Association.

HousingWire, Dec. 14, 2016--Ramirez, Kelsey While mortgage delinquencies are going down, mortgage debt levels are expected to increase by nearly $4,000 from $194,875 in the fourth quarter this year to $198,435 at the end of 2017.

Mortgage Daily, Dec. 14, 2016 The process of obtaining direct endorsement authority from the Federal Housing Administration has been made a little easier.

Mortgage Daily, Dec. 14, 2016 Next year, residential loan applications are expected to be completed by millennials through a mobile device for more than $30 billion in mortgages.

The Mortgage Action Alliance, the grassroots advocacy arm of the Mortgage Bankers Association, has opened the voting period for election of three at-large seats on its 2017 Steering Committee through Friday, Dec. 16.

MBA Education presents a new webinar series, Introduction to E-Mortgage, on Tuesday, January 10 from 12:30-2:00 p.m. ET.